Dalembert Moves Well, Dunks Better

The Sixers center said that he was pleased, but that he still had a way to go.

DURHAM, N.C. - In a week that had little news or excitement, Samuel Dalembert's appearance in a 76ers intrasquad scrimmage yesterday was more than just a footnote.

Dalembert moved well and dunked even better during the training-camp scrimmage at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The center suffered a stress fracture in his left foot while competing for Canada in last summer's Olympic qualifying tournament. He complained of pain after Canada's last game, on Aug. 30, and had to wear a boot and cast for about a month. The boot didn't come off until Monday.

"I am very pleased with my performance, the way I came in," Dalembert said afterward. "I've got a little limitation in terms of jumping and turning."

During the time reporters were able to observe the workout, Dalembert scored on two emphatic dunks and a nice turnaround jumper.

"He hadn't done a whole lot this training camp, so to go out and play the way he did this day, I was pleasantly surprised," Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said. "Now we're not going to know how he feels until [today], so we will have to wait until then."

The Sixers will have two practices today, and Dalembert is limited to just one per day at this point. He said he would likely practice in the evening session to give himself more time to recover.

Dalembert said that he was disappointed in his jumping but that it was going to come back the more he was on the court.

While Dalembert had been participating in limited contact during the first three days of practice, this was by far his most work.

After practice, he experienced pain in his calf and went immediately for treatment.

"The calf was killing me because I was starting to stay away from putting pressure on my foot," Dalembert said.

While the Sixers will be staging competition for minutes at most positions, center is where they have the least depth. Much-traveled veteran Calvin Booth is Dalembert's backup. The only other player on the roster listed as a center is rookie Herbert Hill, who is no certainty to make the team.

The players realize how much Dalembert means to the team, especially after last season, when he started all 82 games and averaged 10.7 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.94 blocked shots in 30.9 minutes.

"Today was a good start for Sam," swingman Andre Iguodala said. "He looked pretty good, ahead of his normal schedule in training camp."

source : philly.com